Republican Congressman: Ban Funding of Obamacare in Every Appropriations Bill This Year

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Steve King (R.-Iowa) says that House Republicans should include language that prohibits any funding for implementation of Obamacare in literally every appropriations bill that passes the House of Representatives this year, thus forcing a showdown on the issue with the Democratic majority Senate and President Barack Obama.

“Somebody’s going to blink,” King told CNSNews.com. “It’ll be President Obama or it’ll be House Republicans.

“If House Republicans refuse to blink, we will succeed,” said King in videotaped interview. “ObamaCare will never become the effective law of the land and we’ll be able to leave a legacy of liberty for the future generations.”

Under King’s plan, congressional Republicans would first force a straight up-or-down vote on repealing Obamacare in the House and Senate, but then follow that up by inserting language into all appropriations bills saying that no money from the bill can be used to implement the federal health-care program President Obama signed last year.

“So, my proposal is this then: Each appropriations bill that comes through, we need to put language in it that prohibits any of the dollars that are appropriated in those funds--and I would add to that any funds heretofore appropriated--from being used to implement or enforce Obamacare,” said King.

King acknowledged that his approach would first lead to a showdown with a Senate that has a Democratic majority and is still led by Sen. Harry Reid (D.-Nev.), who helped enact the Obamacare health-care legislation last year.

“I think that would be a wonderful thing to watch,” said King. “With all of the Senate Democrats that are up for election in 2012, they will have some difficult decisions to make and I think a lot of them already know how they will be if confronted with that eventuality.”

If the Republican-majority House held the line against the Democrat-majority Senate and did not allow any funding for Obamacare in the appropriations bill passed in the coming year, the issue would land on Obama’s desk. As president, he would be faced with a choice of either signing bills that defund Obamacare but fund other government functions, or vetoing bills that fund other government functions because they cut-off Obamacare.

“At some point those bills start to reach President Obama’s desk and then he has to decide whether he’s going to accept the language that prohibits the implementation of Obamacare,” said King. “That’s where the crunch comes.”

In the end, King says he hopes to see the full legislative repeal of Obamacare when the next president is elected.

“I want him to take that oath of office and before he even shakes the hand of the chief justice, turn to the podium and sign the bill that repeals Obamacare right there on the podium at the West Portico of the Capitol, January 20th, 2013,” says King.

King, who represents the state that holds the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, also says the question of whether or not they would sign a bill repealing Obamacare will be asked of the potential presidential candidates in the coming months.

“I think that question will be asked whether it’s me or whether it’s other Iowans or New Hampshire Granite Staters and South Carolinians,” said King.